Brothers
by Steph-Schell
Summary: Miles has a secret. But he can always trust Bass


"I'm going to get you, Bass!" Miles yelled, brandishing his wooden gun.

Bass laughed as he crossed the foot bridge. He turned to look at his friend without breaking stride. "No you won't Miles!"

They tumbled down at the old oak tree by the stream. "That was fun," Miles said breathlessly. He was about to ask what was next when he heard a yowling behind them. "Mistoffelees," he sighed, lifting the cat from the underbrush, "you need to be more careful. Mom is going to kill me if you come home looking like this. And then she'll skin you."

"Why does that cat follow you everywhere?" Bass asked.

"Because he's my familiar of course," Miles replied, trying to clean the cat up.

"Familiar?" Bass repeated.

"Yeah, familiar. You know, your contact to the Other World. They help you work your magic, make it easier to tap into."

Bass stared at his friend. "Magic? Like stage magic?"

Miles laughed. "Of course not. Real magic. Mistoffelees here helps me do it. I'm still new right now but my parents say I'll get better. Magic has run in our family for centuries." Miles turned to him once Mistoffelees was settled. "What's your familiar?"

"I…I don't have one."

"Really?" Miles frowned. "Maybe you just didn't find it yet. Took me months to find Mistoffelees. He eventually came wandering through our back door. They always find you, my mom says. What about spells? Have you tried any good ones yet? My parents are keeping me on the easy ones for now but they've been letting Ben try fire magic recently."

"I haven't done any spells either," Bass admitted.

Miles was still hopeful. "Maybe your powers need a jolt. Ben's did. Let's try a simple spell together."

"Okay," Bass agreed.

They tried every spell Miles knew but nothing happened. Except Bass nearly breaking his leg when they tried levitation. "Don't worry," Miles insisted as dusk began gathering. "I'll talk to my parents. They'll know what to do. We'll be working on spells together before you know it."

"Alright," Bass agreed. "Meet up tomorrow?"

"Like always." Miles picked up Mist up once more. "I promise you everything will work out fine." He darted off with one last smile.

Miles ran all the way back to his house where Ben was watching TV in the den. "Are you and Monroe attached at the hip?" the older boy demanded. "You're nearly late."

"We're friends," Miles retorted, sticking his tongue out. "Don't get upset just because you don't have any."

"Mom's upset," Ben said.

Miles sighed as he made his way to the kitchen where his dad was cooking. A turtle sat on the counter nearby. His mother's stag was resting in the backyard. "Hey dad, can we talk?"

"Sure, sport. What about?"

"Bass."

"Oh don't' tell me you two had another fight," his mother sighed as she joined them. The last time the boys had fought Miles had been moody and sullen for an entire week.

"No we didn't fight. I'm worried about him."

His father frowned as he turned to his son. "Did Bass tell you something was wrong?"

"Not exactly. It's just…Bass can't do spells."

Now it was his mother's turn to frown. "Excuse me?"

"Bass and I were down at the creek today and he asked me about Mistoffelees. So I told him of course but Bass didn't seem to know what I was talking about. Then we tried spells and Bass couldn't do a single one. Not even the simple ones that Ben and I have been doing forever."

His parents exchanged glances. "Miles was anyone else at the creek when you talked about your powers?"

"Just the two of us," Miles shrugged.

"Alright," his mother smiled. "Don't worry. Your father and I will take care of Bass."

Miles grinned as a plate was set in front of him. He knew his parents would understand. They would figure out how to solve this. He and Bass would be doing spells together in no time just like he promised.

Being the youngest, Miles had to go to bed an hour before his brother. But as soon as Ben's bedtime hit, he ran for his brother's room. "Miles, wake up."

Miles groaned. "What is your malfunction?" he snapped.

"Miles, it's about Bass."

Miles sat up at those words. "What about Bass?" he demanded.

"I heard mom and dad talking about him. They're going to erase his memory."

"Why?"

"Because you weren't supposed to tell him about your magic. Bass doesn't have magic of his own."

"He doesn't?"

"No. Not everyone does. We're special. But mom and dad didn't want you to feel weird so they didn't tell you. Now they're worried Bass will blab to people."

"He won't."

"Doesn't matter. They're brewing a spell right now."

Ben wanted to say more but he had to get to bd. Miles looked at Mistoffelees. "Why would they do this?" The cat licked his nose. "Mist, they want to take Bass away from me. Bass is…Bass is like Ben. He's my brother." Mistoffelees rubbed against Miles, trying to cheer him up. "Please, Mistoffelees, if there's anything you can do, do it. Don't let them take Bass from me."

Mistoffelees pawed at the window lock. Miles made sure his parents were still down stairs before opening the window. "Be back by morning." Mistoffelees gave a comforting meow before bounding out into the night.

Bass lived just three houses down from the Mathesons so it didn't take Mistoffelees long at all to find it. He found a loose window to crawl inside and used his nose to find Sebastian's door. Waking the boy up was almost as hard as waking Miles.

"Mistoffelees?" the boy murmured. "What do you want?" Mist tugged at his blanket. "You want me to get up?" The cat nodded. Bass swung out of his bed. "What are you doing here anyway?" Mistoffelees tugged at his pants and led him down to the kitchen.

Bass yawned as he followed the cat downstairs. Mistoffelees wiggled his way into the pantry to knock down the flour. Then, using his tail, he wrote the words 'From Miles'. "Miles sent you?" Mistoffelees purred as he wound around Bass' legs. "So what does he want me to do?"

Mistoffelees jumped onto the sink. "I need a glass of water?" Bass asked. The cat batted at the hot water handle until it turned on. Bass grabbed a tall glass and filled it. "What's next?"

Mistoffelees began rooting through the kitchen and making Bass pull ingredients from everywhere. Bass carefully stirred each thing into the water. "Please don't tell me I'm supposed to drink that," he said, looking at the vile concoction. Mistoffelees bit his hand. "Alright, I'll drink. But I'm doing it under protest." Bass grimaced but swallowed all of it.

Mistoffelees began to purr loudly once more rubbed against Bass to show his happiness. "Well I'm glad you're happy," he sighed. He opened the window for the cat to leave. "Tell him I hope it was worth it." Mistoffelees butted his head before disappearing into the night.

He was soon back at the Matheson house and found his owner tossing and turning. No doubt Miles was still worried about his best friend. Mistoffelees squirmed into his arms and began purring deeply. Miles soon quieted with the warmth and comfort of his friend.

The next day, Miles could barely contain himself. He wanted to see Bass and see if the other boy still remembered everything. It seemed like his parents had every possible chore for him to do that morning. But finally he was allowed to go out. And he burst through the door so fast he practically left his shadow behind.

Miles flew down the trails until he was at the oak tree by the stream. Bass was waiting for him as usually. "Took you long enough," Bass snapped. "I've been waiting forever."

"Bass, what do you remember?" Miles demanded.

Bass frowned. "What?"

"What do you remember? From yesterday?"

"What do you mean? I remember everything of course."

"Even Mist? Even everything I told you about magic?"

"Yeah, especially that part where you nearly broke my leg. That was a real hoot."

"But you do remember it?"

"I do." Bass watched as Miles sagged in relief. "What's wrong? And why did you send Mistoffelees to make me drink that vile concoction?"

"I had to. My parents wanted to take your memories away."

"But why?"

"Because you don't have powers like do. They were afraid you'd tell people." Miles grabbed Bass' arm. "You can't tell anyone what I told you, Bass. Not a soul. It's a secret and I'll be in a lot of trouble. So will my family. Now promise me you won't tell."

"Of course not," Bass agreed. "It's our secret Miles. I'll never tell a single soul as long as I live."

Miles grinned. "Knew I could count on my brother."


End file.
